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THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 SPORTS Contador ready to take on Froome for Tour crown PARIS: If last year’s Tour de France often resembled teroids to treat a chest infection in April, something Vincenzo Nibali, Dutchman Bauke Mollema, a triumphant Chris Froome march to Paris, the road that was granted by the UCI in controversial fash- Belgian Juergen van den Broeck, Spain’s Alejandro to the Champs Elysees may be more unpredictable ion. (ID:nnL4N0P447U]) Valverde and American pair Andrew Talansky and this time especially with Alberto Contador likely to Contador, who was stripped of his 2010 Tour Tejay van Garderen will be tested. be back in the hunt. title after testing positive for a miniscule amount of Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez, third last year, tar- The Briton took control in the eighth stage in the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol, must do gets only stage wins but should he be well placed 2013 before trouncing his rivals in the mountains without key team mate Roman Kreuziger. after the Alps, the Katusha rider could amend his and the time trials as Spaniard Contador struggled The Czech rider, fifth in last year’s Tour, is out of targets. The absence of last year’s runner-up, to find the form that helped him win the race in the Tinkoff-Saxo team because he faces a possible Colombian Nairo Quintana, takes some of the dra- 2007 and 2009. Although Froome should receive UCI investigation into his biological passport data ma off a race that otherwise promises more thrills unprecedented support as the Tour starts in Leeds- from 2011 and 2012. than last year. - the second Grand Depart from Britain in eight Contador, though, seems to be in the form of France, who have been waiting for a home Tour Hamilton aims to ‘home’ years — that will count for little when the event his life, having beaten Froome in the Dauphine to winner since Bernard Hinault triumphed in 1985, enters France. Froome will rely on backing from a finish second overall and also winning the Tour of will follow Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet strong team that includes Geraint Thomas and the Basque country and Tirreno-Adriatico. although a top-five finish would be quite an in on Rosberg’s F1 lead Bernhard Eisel although the Sky outfit have decid- “Last year he dominated the Tour and there was achievement for both. The battle for the green jer- SILVERSTONE: Silverstone celebrates its Watson said last week. “It is make or ed to leave out 2012 champion Bradley Wiggins. nothing we could do about it,” Contador told the sey - the points classification could go Peter 50th grand prix this weekend with all break - as important a grand prix for The defending champion has not had a brilliant Spanish newspaper AS. “It was a strange feeling Sagan’s way again after the Slovak took it to Paris in season, however, and his lieutenant Richie Porte being on the podium as winners of the team classi- the last two editions. eyes on Lewis Hamilton as the home Lewis as any in his career has ever been.” has also struggled. In addition Team Sky recently fication. It’s one of the things that motivated me to Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel, who will also favorite with a real chance of winning a The Mercedes pair will be favourites faced off-road, doping-related allegations that the improve.” Contador has moved from his hometown have green jersey ambitions, will probably focus on race he cannot afford to lose. but may not have it all their own way at a International Cycling Union (UCI) has yet to clear. of Pinto to Switzerland, shifting from quantity to stage wins a year after the German beat the Briton It has been six years since he won at venerable circuit that hosted its first Froome won four stage races in 2013 but this quality in terms of training. Like Froome he will rely 4-2, most notably taking the final leg on the home in Britain and the Mercedes driver grand prix in 1948, two years before it season he has only triumphed in the Tour of Oman on a strong team to help him through the cobbled Champs Elysees. There will be just four British riders needs a change of fortune more than opened the first Formula One world and Tour de Romandie and crashed in the last roads and the mountains. The fight between the at the start (Froome, Thomas, Cavendish and Simon ever as he seeks to cut team mate Nico championship in 1950. warm-up event, the Criterium du Dauphine, before top guns could start before the usual battlefields of Yates) compared to last year’s six after Wiggins, Rosberg’s 29 point lead in the champi- Williams, with Felipe Massa and finishing 12th. It will be a treacherous 2014 Tour for the Alps and the Pyrenees as the 10th stage takes Alex Howes and veteran David Millar, who had onship. “I’m definitely gunning for Valtteri Bottas, swept the front row in him as it features stretches of cobbled roads in the peloton to La Planche des Belles Filles - where hoped for an emotional swansong, were not Silverstone,” the 2008 world champion qualifying in Austria 10 days ago, while northern France, a tricky crossing of the Vosges Froome took his maiden Tour win in 2012 - with picked by their teams. told reporters ahead of the ninth round Red Bull and Ferrari are hoping to be in mountains and only one time trial - a discipline in four category-one climbs on the menu. The Tour pays its respects to those who died in of the season. the mix at a high-speed track that has which he surpasses all his rivals. This is where the outsiders may try to blow the World War One when the peloton goes through “Last year, I was more hopeful than favoured them in the past. race wide open - a move that was attempted by Chemin des Dames and Verdun. ever... that weekend it was definitely gut- Massa will be celebrating his 200th CHEST INFECTION the Garmin Sharp team last year in the Pyrenees. Women will ride down the Champs Elysees for ting not to win, to not bring it home for grand prix while former champions Froome’s health has also been a concern as he the first time on the last day as ‘La Course by le Tour the country and for the fans. We have Williams have happy memories of a toiled with a back problem and benefited from a MILLAR HEARTBREAK de France’, a one-day race created by the organis- another chance this year and I’ll be doing home circuit that brought them their first Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to use corticos- It will be here that the credentials of Italian ers, is to be held in Paris on July 27. — Reuters absolutely everything to make sure we’re win in 1979 and 100th in 1997. in front.” McLaren’s Jenson Button, the 2009 Hamilton won in 2008 and qualified champion, has never stood on the podi- Petrofac wins Al-Rashed Cup on pole position last year but an explod- um at his home race and looks unlikely ing tyre, a feature of the race that forced to rectify that this year. KUWAIT: Pirelli to make changes, wrecked his “We won’t get on the podium at Petrofac cricket team registered an chance and handed victory to Rosberg Silverstone, no chance,” the Briton, who is exciting victory over Safety Plus by winning the instead. Rosberg has beaten Hamilton in out of contract at the end of the year and Al-Rashed Cricket trophy by 10 runs at KOC’s Ahmadi cricket ground. the last three races, after the Briton won hopes Sunday will not be his last F1 Petrofac batted first and scored 211 runs for four in a row, and has the momentum as appearance at the circuit, told British the loss of 6 wickets. Bilal scored a whirlwind 103 the season nears the halfway point. reporters. The home crowd, with more with masterful stroke play. He was ably support- The two men have the same equip- than 300,000 expected over the three ed at the other end by Midhun who scored 21, ment and are in a duel of their own for days, will still give the 34-year-old a lift Adnan who made 33 and Kaleem 10 and Asghar the title, with Red Bull’s Australian Daniel on a weekend that will be of special sig- 9. For Safety Plus, Khalid took 2 for 27, Yaseen 2 Ricciardo a further 53 points adrift of nificance personally. for 30 , Rishi 1 for 23 and Ali Shehzad 1 for 47. Hamilton, that looks destined for one of Sunday will be Button’s first race at Chasing 212 to win, Safety Plus started well with them. Silverstone without his father John, who Khalid and Yaseen scoring 27 runs each. Rosberg has finished first or second in died in January, and Button has launched Amir 34 and Farooq 29 kept their hopes alive every race this season, which means that a ‘Pink for Papa’ tribute to raise funds for but Safety Plus fell short by 10 runs in an excit- Hamilton could win the next four races the Henry Surtees Foundation. ing final to end the season organized by KOC and still not be in front if the German car- The charity was set up by 1964 cham- Cricket Committee. The other contributors with ries on his remarkable consistency.